Words by Andrew DaRosa Photos by Chad Anderson

Primus Sucks.

To any person unknowing of the renowned jam-funk band, the aforementioned statement seems like a harsh assessment of a man. However, any fan of Primus understands that “Primus Sucks” is the highest term of endearment for a band that has specialized in the best, weirdest music you’ve ever heard for the past 33 years.

However, this year, it really “sucked” to be a fan, as many were administered with an extra dosage of Primus as the trio of Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander put out The Desaturing Seven this past September. The latest record, which recounts the events of the children’s book “The Rainbow Goblins,” proved to be a critically-acclaimed follow-up to 2014’s Primus & The Chocolate Factory with The Fungi Ensemble, as well as their first full-length album of original material since 2011.

After coming off a red-hot summer tour with Clutch as well as the release of their latest record, Primus hit the road again in support of The Destaurating Seven, which led them to our quaint town of Port Chester, N.Y. Being three years since the desaturing three had played The Cap, there was much lost time that needed to be made-up, but certainly, no one had a doubt in their mind that Primus would deliver.

With fans dressed up in preparation for Halloween, cat ears and lizard heads were perked up to see how Primus would decimate the sound barrier. As the lights dimmed and the backtracked circus music crescendoed, LaLonde laid out the signature guitar intro for “Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers” and gracing the stage mid-introduction, Claypool comes out, keeping the muted bass line going before descending into chaos and unleashing his aggression towards those “running this town.”

With fans at peak energy, Primus immediately jumped into the duo of “Too Many Puppies” and “Sgt. Baker,” which delved into a psychedelic jam of the two iconic songs from Primus’s early discography.

Throughout the remainder of the first set, Primus delivered a crowd-pleasing mixture of fan favorites (“Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”) and some deep cuts in the mix (“Welcome to This World”.)

Primus reached true nirvana, however, when Claypool took out his signature whamola to grace the audience with renditions of “Candy Man” from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory and the Primus classic “Mr. Krinkle.”

With the first set coming to a close, Claypool offered an insight into what could be expected from the second set; “we are going to do Van Halen I in its entirety,” Claypool quipped. Instead, fans were served The Desaturing Seven in its entirety, which was accompanied by rainbow-colored visuals and satanic clothing worn by the band. The trio shined in reinterpreted jams within songs like “The Dream” and “The Scheme” yet weren’t afraid to stick to what made the album so rich in the first place, quick hooks and enigmatically strange lyrics.

As the show came to a close, the theatre roared in the chant of “Primus Sucks,” yet, this reviewer can faithfully say that he has never felt so much love for a band than he had in that audience.

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